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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to native language assessments in 2
public schools; amending s. 1003.435, F.S.; requiring 3
that a high school equivalency examination 4
administered in any language other than English be 5
given the same weight as a high school equivalency 6
examination administered in English; amending s. 7
1008.2125, F.S.; requiring written portions of the 8
coordinated screening and progress monitoring program 9
for students in the Voluntary Prekindergarten 10
Education Program through grade 3 to be in specified 11
native languages; requiring school districts to 12
administer the screenings and monitoring in a native 13
language to certain students; providing for the 14
determination of when it is appropriate to administer 15
native language versions of the screenings and 16
monitoring; amending s. 1008.22, F.S.; revising 17
requirements of the statewide, standardized assessment 18
program to include native language versions of related 19
assessments; requiring school districts to administer 20
native language versions of such assessments to 21
certain English language learners and other students 22
for whom it is appropriate; providing for the 23
determination of when it is appropriate to administer 24
native language versions of such assessments; 25
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requiring the department to create a timetable and 26
action plan for the development and adoption of native 27
language versions of the assessments; requiring the 28
state to accept results on the high school equivalency 29
examination from any language version of the 30
examination; providing for the administration of 31
standardized assessments; requiring the department to 32
develop or identify content assessments in target 33
languages; providing for the administration of content 34
assessments in target languages in certain education 35
programs; requiring the department to create a 36
timetable and an action plan for the development and 37
adoption of native language examinations; requiring 38
the Commissioner of Education to identify alternative 39
assessments and passing scores for a specified 40
purpose; requiring the State Board of Education to 41
approve by rule passing scores on alternative 42
assessments; providing an effective date. 43
44
WHEREAS, the federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) 45
includes the purpose of assisting all English learners, 46
including immigrant children and youth, in achieving at high 47
levels in academic subjects so that all English learners can 48
meet the same challenging state academic standards that all 49
students are expected to meet, and 50
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WHEREAS, the ESSA requires states to make every effort to 51
develop annual academic assessments in langua ges other than 52
English which are present to a significant extent in the 53
participating student population, and 54
WHEREAS, Florida's diversity of English language learners 55
surpasses most states in the country, and 56
WHEREAS, Florida is ranked third in English language 57
learner population and, although Spanish is the native language 58
of the majority of these students, English language learners in 59
the state speak more than 200 different languages, and 60
WHEREAS, all students within the state should be given an 61
equitable opportunity to study and learn subjects required for 62
grade-to-grade progression and high school graduation, and 63
WHEREAS, the current system of testing students for 64
accountability purposes in a language the students not 65
understand does not provide acc urate information about how well 66
English language learners are learning content area subjects, 67
NOW, THEREFORE, 68
69
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 70
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Section 1. Subsection (5) of section 1003.435, Florida 72
Statutes, is amended to read: 73
1003.435 High school equivalency diploma program. — 74
(5) Each district school board shall develop, in 75
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cooperation with the area Florida College System institution 76
board of trustees, a plan for the provision of advanced 77
instruction for those student s who attain satisfactory 78
performance on the high school equivalency examination or the 79
subject area examinations or who demonstrate through other means 80
a readiness to engage in postsecondary -level academic work. The 81
plan shall include provisions for the e quitable distribution of 82
generated funds to cover personnel, maintenance, and other costs 83
of offering the advanced instruction. Priority shall be given to 84
programs of advanced instruction offered in high school 85
facilities. A high school equivalency examina tion administered 86
in a language other than English must be given the same weight 87
as a high school equivalency examination administered in 88
English. 89
Section 2. Paragraph (h) is added to subsection (1) of 90
section 1008.2125, Florida Statutes, to read: 91
1008.2125 Coordinated screening and progress monitoring 92
program for students in the Voluntary Prekindergarten Education 93
Program through grade 3. — 94
(1) The primary purpose of the coordinated screening and 95
progress monitoring program for students in the Volun tary 96
Prekindergarten Education Program through grade 3 is to provide 97
information on students' progress in mastering the appropriate 98
grade-level standards and to provide information on their 99
progress to parents, teachers, and school and program 100
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administrators. Data shall be used by Voluntary Prekindergarten 101
Education Program providers and school districts to improve 102
instruction, by parents and teachers to guide learning 103
objectives and provide timely and appropriate supports and 104
interventions to students not meeting grade-level expectations, 105
and by the public to assess the cost benefit of the expenditure 106
of taxpayer dollars. The coordinated screening and progress 107
monitoring program must: 108
(h) For any written portion of the screenings and progress 109
monitoring, include native language versions for the three most 110
prevalent languages represented in the English language learner 111
population within the state. For students who are English 112
language learners enrolled in a dual language program and for 113
whom it is appropria te, each school district shall administer, 114
as appropriate, the native language screening or progress 115
monitoring. A parent of a prekindergarten dual language learner 116
or a kindergarten dual language learner must be given the 117
opportunity to determine whether the administration of a native 118
language screening or progress monitoring is appropriate for his 119
or her student. If a parent does not exercise his or her right, 120
the decision to determine the appropriateness of the 121
administration of a native language screeni ng or progress 122
monitoring may be based on teacher judgment. 123
Section 3. Subsections (9) through (13) of section 124
1008.22, Florida Statutes, are renumbered as subsections (10) 125
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through (14), respectively, paragraphs (a) and (d) of subsection 126
(3) are amended and paragraph (h) is added to that subsection, 127
and a new subsection (9) is added to that section, to read: 128
1008.22 Student assessment program for public schools. — 129
(3) STATEWIDE, STANDARDIZED ASSESSMENT PROGRAM. —The 130
Commissioner of Education shall des ign and implement a 131
statewide, standardized assessment program aligned to the core 132
curricular content established in the Next Generation Sunshine 133
State Standards. The commissioner also must develop or select 134
and implement a common battery of assessment too ls that will be 135
used in all juvenile justice education programs in the state. 136
These tools must accurately measure the core curricular content 137
established in the Next Generation Sunshine State Standards. 138
Participation in the assessment program is mandatory for all 139
school districts and all students attending public schools, 140
including adult students seeking a standard high school diploma 141
under s. 1003.4282 and students in Department of Juvenile 142
Justice education programs, except as otherwise provided by law. 143
If a student does not participate in the assessment program, the 144
school district must notify the student's parent and provide the 145
parent with information regarding the implications of such 146
nonparticipation. The statewide, standardized assessment program 147
shall be designed and implemented as follows: 148
(a) Statewide, standardized comprehensive assessments. —The 149
statewide, standardized English Language Arts (ELA) assessments 150
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shall be administered to students in grades 3 through 10. Retake 151
opportunities for the g rade 10 ELA assessment must be provided. 152
Reading passages and writing prompts for ELA assessments shall 153
incorporate grade-level core curricula content from social 154
studies. The statewide, standardized Mathematics assessments 155
shall be administered annually i n grades 3 through 8. The 156
statewide, standardized Science assessment shall be administered 157
annually at least once at the elementary and middle grades 158
levels. In order to earn a standard high school diploma, a 159
student who has not earned a passing score on t he grade 10 ELA 160
assessment must earn a passing score on the assessment retake or 161
earn a concordant score as authorized under subsection (10) (9). 162
Statewide, standardized ELA and Mathematics assessments in 163
grades 3 through 6 must be delivered in a paper -based format. 164
(d) Students with disabilities; Florida Alternate 165
Assessment; English language learners enrolled in dual language 166
programs.— 167
1. Each district school board must provide instruction to 168
prepare students with disabilities in the core content kno wledge 169
and skills necessary for successful grade -to-grade progression 170
and high school graduation. 171
2. A student with a disability, as defined in s. 1007.02, 172
for whom the individual education plan (IEP) team determines 173
that the statewide, standardized asse ssments under this section 174
cannot accurately measure the student's abilities, taking into 175
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consideration all allowable accommodations, shall have 176
assessment results waived for the purpose of receiving a course 177
grade and a standard high school diploma. Such waiver shall be 178
designated on the student's transcript. The statement of waiver 179
shall be limited to a statement that performance on an 180
assessment was waived for the purpose of receiving a course 181
grade or a standard high school diploma, as applicable. 182
3. The State Board of Education shall adopt rules, based 183
upon recommendations of the commissioner, for the provision of 184
assessment accommodations for students with disabilities and for 185
students who have limited English proficiency. 186
a. Accommodations that ne gate the validity of a statewide, 187
standardized assessment are not allowed during the 188
administration of the assessment. However, instructional 189
accommodations are allowed in the classroom if identified in a 190
student's IEP. Students using instructional accommo dations in 191
the classroom that are not allowed on a statewide, standardized 192
assessment may have assessment results waived if the IEP team 193
determines that the assessment cannot accurately measure the 194
student's abilities. 195
b. If a student is provided with in structional 196
accommodations in the classroom that are not allowed as 197
accommodations for statewide, standardized assessments, the 198
district must inform the parent in writing and provide the 199
parent with information regarding the impact on the student's 200
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ability to meet expected performance levels. A parent must 201
provide signed consent for a student to receive classroom 202
instructional accommodations that would not be available or 203
permitted on a statewide, standardized assessment and 204
acknowledge in writing that he o r she understands the 205
implications of such instructional accommodations. 206
c. If a student's IEP states that online administration of 207
a statewide, standardized assessment will significantly impair 208
the student's ability to perform, the assessment shall be 209
administered in hard copy. 210
d.(I) Each school district shall administer, as 211
appropriate, native language versions of statewide, standardized 212
comprehensive assessments and end -of-course (EOC) assessments to 213
English language learners enrolled in dual languag e programs in 214
elementary or middle school and for whom it is appropriate. 215
(A) A parent of an English language learner enrolled in a 216
dual language program in prekindergarten through grade 5 and a 217
parent of a student with disabilities of any grade level ma y 218
determine whether the administration of a native language 219
version of a standardized comprehensive assessment and EOC 220
assessment is appropriate. 221
(B) An English language learner enrolled in a dual 222
language program in grades 6 through 8 may determine whet her the 223
administration of a native language version of a standardized 224
comprehensive assessment and EOC assessment is appropriate. The 225
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parent of an English language learner enrolled in a dual 226
language program in grades 6 through 8 is entitled to prohibit 227
his or her student from being administered the native language 228
versions of the assessments. 229
(II) The Department of Education shall develop a timetable 230
and action plan to phase in the development and adoption of the 231
native language assessments, beginning wi th assessments for the 232
three most prevalent languages represented in the English 233
language learner population within the state and with 234
assessments required for high school graduation. The state shall 235
accept results on the high school equivalency examinatio n from 236
any language version of the examination. 237
4. For students with significant cognitive disabilities, 238
the Department of Education shall provide for implementation of 239
the Florida Alternate Assessment to accurately measure the core 240
curricular content es tablished in the Next Generation Sunshine 241
State Standards. 242
(h) Content assessments in the target language of 243
instruction.— 244
1. Standardized assessments in the target language 245
identified or developed by the department must be administered 246
annually for the target language to English language learners in 247
dual language programs and bilingual education programs. 248
2. The department shall develop a timetable and action 249
plan to phase in the identification or development and adoption 250
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of native language examinat ions of achievement in the content 251
areas taught through the target language, beginning with 252
examinations in the most frequently taught content area in 253
bilingual or dual language programs in public schools. 254
(9) ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS; ALTERNATIVE ASSES SMENTS.—255
The Commissioner of Education shall identify alternative 256
assessments and the respective passing scores to be offered in 257
languages other than English and that are appropriate for 258
demonstrating the college readiness of English language 259
learners. The passing scores on alternative assessments 260
identified pursuant to this subsection must be approved by state 261
board rule. 262
Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2022. 263